Release Frequency

Activity Stats

Reading List

Description

Links are NOT allowed. Format your description nicely so people can easily read them. Please use proper spacing and paragraphs.

The man forsaken by the world, the man a slave to money and the man known as the legendary God of War in the highly popular MMORPG Continent of Magic. With the coming of age, he decides to say goodbye, but the feeble attempt to earn a little something for his time and effort ripples into an effect none could ever have imagined.

Through a series of coincidences, his legendary avatar is sold for 3 billion won, bringing great joy to him, only to plunge him into despair at losing almost all of it to vicious loan sharks. With revelation of money through gaming, he rises from the abyss with new found resolve and steps forward into the new age of games led by the first ever Virtual Reality MMORPG, Royal Road.

This is the legend of Lee Hyun on his path to becoming Emperor with only his family loving heart, his boundless desire for money, his unexpected mind, his diligently forged body and the talent of hard work backing him.

Tight now I’m actually re-reading LMS from the beginning (as I have put it on pause a while back when translation was up to v48 or something). Well the fact that I’m actually re-reading this really long work says something about it too (and no I’m not into reading boring stuff).

The thing that really puts LMS on a high rank for me is that I could still remember many of the characters names even half a year later. And not just the name of MC, but the names of “pets”... more>> as well as various secondary characters. Honestly I am bad at remembering names, so to me it makes this novel special.

If you are looking for something LONG, pretty high quality translation, with quite a few laughs and not too much sleazy romance- I’d give this novel a go. <<less

I readied up towards Rainbow Turtle translation when I was in the Central African Republic with french marines a while back. I decided to write a review since when reading other VRMMORPG novels, it never gave me that same feeling when I first Readied LMS.

It's not Per SE that LMS is a masterpiece, sure you could easily find some mistake then and there. However naturally it gave me a enjoyment that couldn't be compared to any other novel in the genre out there. While I may readied few, I know... more>> that LMS gives this Allure incomparable to the others. It's only when I thought about it was when I realized that LMS that stood out from all the other VRMMORPG out there. Was Due to the fact that it barely stood with them, It could barely be considered in the same genre. Most novels in this genre I readied, makes it more incline towards Esport. Yes LMS has plenty of MMORPG mechanics as you expect from one. Although IF LMS Author was too put the Royal Road World in another way. Such as everyone was able to enter Royal Road through a dimensional rift, it held the same mechanics, world and somehow nobody dies realistically in that world. Then I could easily believed that much wouldn't changed in this novel. The Author PUT it in a way too which he uses The Virtual Reality as a gateway to a fantasy world making it a setting. Others uses The Virtual Reality as their setting, and while obviously they contain A fantasy setting. They differ in that they don't used the Fantasy world Predominantly as how LMS does it, its more per se like something for the background. You could easily see it as a Traditional Fantasy World Adventure novel, and completely disregard the Virtual Reality aspect at all. Since you don't see much action in the Real World.

I also feel I should mention some other quirks to the novel which made LMS stand so strong in Korea and in this community. The adventure, cannot be understated, it such a grand journey, it would be surreal if anyone done such a arduous journey. Every journey had readers and myself immersive in such a amazing journey. The sculpture in the novels gives a final touch during each end of a journey representing how we would picture when we only readied it in words. The culture that obviously developed due to the fandom of this novel, from The Porridge family. Made the people who readied and enjoyed it will always remember such a fantastic novel. Brought a continuous community that naturally supported the author to still make the same novel since 2007 since it never gets old.

The running gag of this novel, Weed Obviously Greedy nature, naturally some people hates it since it never changes. While he obviously simmered down from Vol. 1, it still persist. While I may say that "Well Its a running gag, a lot of novel uses too so you shouldn't be too surprised.". I don't know about you but I prefer that he hasn't changed that much by his personality. He gained some traits such as his hard working nature but I Am Glad That HE Hasn't Changed that Greedy Son of a Bitch Personality from Day 1. If he was changed towards something such as, giving more damn about his kingdom and perhaps being more serious in waging war against the Empire. For me while it gives maybe a good kingdom building novel, it loses it one very good value, Adventure. It becomes more Esport nature similar towards the other novel in the genre. Since now he cares about his kingdom, there will be more interaction in the real world, I assured You. And then... Who Knows? While he'll still adventure, it wouldn't be as romanticized for how he done it by not giving a damn. The running gags isn't horrendous in it itself, You'll get a laughed if you haven't readied a lot of greedy MC. Some people merely feel its tiring at the running gag. Don't Know About You though, I quite enjoyed the running gag. The Gag is never towards the point of annoying you, in actuality its quite refreshing. While in obviously certain instances, when the gag is certainly going to be used, like taking every damn thing no matter what his doing. The author had made ways in which he uses it different, such as finding many ways to be a amazing Merchant.

Not a Masterpiece however for me, its definitely one of the best time I had reading a novel. Read this novel if you have the spare time, it takes a considerable amount of reading just too catch up. If you hate VRMMORPG novels, then I assure you, if you simply forget that its in a VR and think of it as a Fantasy world adventure. You wouldn't miss any enjoyment from reading such a fantastic novel. If you want to hate on the novel and you are a asshole who haven't readied the novel, well then... Sucks to be you. <<less

For the first 15-20 volumes, I give this novel a 4.5/5. For the rest of the novel though, I can only give it a 3/5. Read below for the reason for my initially high rating and the reasons why it dropped. Beware of some spoilers.

For the first 15 to 20 volumes of this novel, it could be have been considered to be a masterpiece. It was filled with pretty interesting characters, classes, quests and stories. It also had a good number of funny moments. Most importantly though, it contained... more>> plenty of EPIC moments. The epic moments were done so well that despite reading a lot of CN / KR / JP novels, this novel still, hands down, has the best war scenes.

I think pretty much everyone who has read the earlier chapters agree with that statement.

Past 20-ish chapters though, the problems regarding the novel / author could easily be seen. The same jokes regarding the Geomchi's are repeated. The same descriptions of how greedy / selfish Weed is used, except for some minor changes. Descriptions are noticeably drawn out and the lack of thought in it's writing / execution could be felt. It's like the author lost the direction he wanted to go with which led to him having to draw out the chapters / volumes. This is something that happens to almost all web novels though so I guess it's not too surprising.

The main problem from where all the problems stems from for me is the fact that... the main character has ALMOST NO CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. In this novel, we have a female character who, due to being traumatized, was unable to get close to other people, much less talk to them. At the 20th volume of this novel, she has learned to talk to the people she found trustworthy and was able to get a job and earn. She developed THAT MUCH in the span of 20 volumes. However, if you look at the main character, Weed, he's almost exactly the same person he was when he was "poor". His greed and selfishness was caused by how poor he was during his youth and how he had to work very hard in order to provide for his sister and grandmother. In the 20th volume, he's already earning MILLIONS every month yet he is still almost the exact same person he was during the first volume. This is one of the reasons as to why everything just seems keep repeating. Hell, even the Geomchis who are simple-minded and "ignorant" and who used to just fight without relying in skills have learned to use skills, do quests, and manage their stats.

I dropped this novel before by around the 30th volume, however, I decided to re-read everything from the very beginning since I had some very good memories reading this novel (the epic moments I stated earlier in particular). That being said, I still can't get past the 35th volume despite trying to force myself to read it. At one point I just kept wishing for Seo-yoon to realize how much of an asshole Weed is and dump him. (I mean, at one point she helps Weed with a quest which lasts months. During said quest, Weed realizes that he hasn't given Seoyoon a gift as thanks, so he decides to give him jewelry. Why? Because the jewelry was going to disappear anyway after the quest. It was even specifically stated that he prepared a speech and all just in case she rejected the gift.) It doesn't even have to be Seo-yoon realizing what Weed is. It can be Weed getting betrayed by his "people" / living sculptures for his mistreatment, or his friends deciding to ignore him for always trying to use them whenever he needed. Seriously, I'm fine with anything. I just hope that SOMETHING HAPPENS THAT FORCES HIM TO DEVELOP. The sad thing though is that it looks like he doesn't really change even up to the most recent chapters (according to the other reviews).

Lastly, I personally find it annoying how Weed keeps complaining about his class being weak. The class which the first Emperor, who united the contintent, had. He is able to solo quests which other classes would find impossible yet somehow, the complaints never stop. However, I know that this is pretty much normal in most novels, despite how cheat-like the class / ability / treasure the main character acquires is.

I might seem to be overly critical but don't get me wrong, it's because I loved this novel. Hell, I've dropped tons of other novels because it was getting repetitive and never looked back. Yet, for this novel, I tried to force myself to read it again.

It's always sad to drop a novel because of how repetitive / grating it has become to read. Sadly, it's reached the point where, for me, LMS just isn't worth reading anymore. <<less

Well, to start with, I am not sure whether to say that the prose is not that good or the translation quality is sometimes bad, but you have to admit that some of the writings are a bit odd at times.

If it can be said, LMS is not really a ‘serious business’ story. Readers probably better off to consider it as an action-comedy than a shonen story. In fact, there are a couple of running gags (Weed weaseling off things from NPCs, giving ‘tough love’ to his... more>> minions as ‘training’, his ‘songs’, or him going all over a massive battlefield to collect ‘dropped’ loot) that are so oft repeated that is more nostalgic than funny (sometimes stale).

Weed, or Lee Hyun, has a rather sad backstory, and he becomes, well, rather jaded, pessimistic, and obsessed with different values (money) than the norm of society because of it. This is supposed to be the main source of humor, how others expect him to do or go this way, but he does it another way, because of his different values (money!).

A particular running gag about his miserly ways is that one of his major regret is buying up a packet of salt that costs 100 Won extra, or that he swore everlasting vengeance to Bardray (a big shot in game) because he picked up Weed’s rare armor (by then very unsuitable level-wise but never changed because Weed is cheap) after defeating him in combat and selling it for a lot of cash on online action as Weed’s old armor.

Or various other things.

Well, not to say that the story is not interesting, or the personal fight scenes and massive battlefield scenes not epic, but you can definitely say that it is not a very deep story.

It is a humorous story of a poor but determined young man, whose current goal in life is to get enough money to pay for his sister’s college tuition till she graduates and keep his sickly grandmother living in comfort, and he intends to do this by playing an online game (and selling loots and equipment in the internet auction, taking royalties from videos, getting tax from his empire, eating bribes from competing TV studios for access to aforementioned videos, etc., etc., and most important goal, getting more money from selling this particular account after he reached the pinnacle... Well, he had done it once, so he could do it again, right?).

Read it, have fun laughing at Weed and co. antics, whistle in awe at the fight scenes, d’aww or hnnng at the WAFF, but don’t go in expecting a serious kind of story.

PS: There is a big reason why some players are so gung-ho to reach the pinnacle of the game, and spend inordinately amount of effort (also real money, I suspect), the very same reason why the game itself is called Royal Road... But I believe Lee Hyun himself hasn't actually realized that reason, and just intended to sell his Weed account after reaching the top for major moolah, like he did with his maxed-out old game account. <<less

First of all, this is literally the greatest LN out there. I read tons, but yeah, this is my favorite by far.

If you're looking for a Story like this:

1) Self- Righteous MC
that doesn't do any Bad at all, in the view of the people, no matter how a douche he is (like so many novels out there).

2) Doesn't have too many Side Characters
because hey, Side Characters are irrelevant, right? They're only there to... more>> 'Vomit Blood' whenever an MC disses them because the MC is OP as hell every god damn time.

3) Focuses on Harem genre
where the females literally want to bed him everywhere he goes.

4) A Suddenly OP MC
contrary to popular belief, if you really read the novel and not just skim past it, you will know that he is NOT a Suddenly OP MC. He conditioned his mind and body for one whole year before entering the game. His grinding is just in another level compared to every other players, or MCs out there, that's why he got so strong. And, honestly, you will see a LOT of grinding when you read this novel.

Like, he's grinding every chapter.

So, No, he is not a Suddenly OP MC that Suddenly obtained an extraordinary power out of nowhere without doing anything.

If you like those kinds of story, then this story is Definitely NOT for you. Don't even bother reading it, less you'll just send out a negative review.

On the other hand...

In this Novel, you will find:

1) A Greedy, Traumatized but Funny MC
that focuses on obtaining money because he's literally the breadwinner in their family. What's so psychopathic about that? The MC experienced getting harassed by loan sharks in school, not being able to eat and helplessly watched his little sister cry because she's hungry, quitting school so that he could support his family so that his little sister and his grandma can eat. Is it really psychopathic when someone is obsessed in obtaining money so that he could support his Family? If that's your version in the term 'Psychopath', then there will be a LOT of Psychopaths in the world.

Every MC has a quirk, in this case, Weed is obsessed in obtaining money because he was traumatized by his past experiences. The MC is actually quite caring when it comes to his family.

2) An MC that doesn't like 'Romance'
because having a girlfriend is expensive in his opinion, so don't even bother reading this if you want to read a romance-based novel. Who cares if his sister claimed that someone is a perfect match for the MC? Is her sister the MC? Is the MC obliged to be with a 'perfect match'? And Yes, the MC has a 'clue' about the ones who likes him. He just plain doesn't like them romantically. He's not the usual Oblivious MC. Again, you'll know that if you didn't just skim over the chapters.

However, he does get a girlfriend in the end. Weed is simply quite obsessed with her, even if he doesn't realize it himself most of the time. And vice-versa.

Spoiler

The Badass Queen Seoyoon is his girlfriend. Even before they fell in love with each other, Weed is already quite obsessed with her. He admitted that she's the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen. Heck, from all the sculptures he made, Seoyoon has to be the one he most sculpted about. But, yeah, they will only officially get together around Volume 39. So, if you're looking for a Romance-based novel, this is not for you.

[collapse]

3) A Lot of Side Characters
and not just those who 'Vomits Blood' whenever the MC disses them, but also a bunch of interesting characters that makes the overall awesomeness of this novel. They're not just Cannon Fodders (though the Grass Porridge Army PROUDLY considered themselves as Cannon Fodders, LOL!), but they're also interesting in their own ways.

I love the side characters, the author presented them in a way that the MC is NOT the only one who can shape the Versailles Continent. Other people can do it too. Basically, the MC is not the only relevant character out there.

4) VRMMO Elements to the MAX
Yup, unlike other popular VRMMO novel that focused mainly on romance, this novel certainly incorporates and even focuses on the VRMMO aspects. This is one of the main reasons why I love this novel.

I normally don't like to Compare Novels with Other Novels. But it just irritates me that others says trash about this Novel because they prefer Other Novels. So, yeah, this is my backtalk to all those other reviewers. And yes, I know I'm a goddamn hypocrite. Who cares?

Anyways, that's all I can think for now. If you're looking for a good novel to read, definitely try this out. It's been an enjoyable ride thus far. <<less

In my opinion this story to skim through, but has too many flaws to be read closely (if you spend more than 5min pr chapter, I wouldn’t recommend it) :

1) There are too many people to keep track of both the IGN and RL names. I had to eventually go back and make a list of the characters aliases to keep track of it all... I personally don’t like a story where I’m forced to take notes to understand what’s going on.

2) So, what’s going on with the women? At... more>> one point (around volume 15 I think), his sister claims Dain is his perfect match, however nothing really happens after that.. After 9 years of story telling, I am thoughroughly convinced that the MC is a psychopath (completely unable to feel empathy)..

2, 5) As far as I understand it, in CoM he was a complete asshole, who bullied and stepped on anyone, completely void of interrest in social activities, yet in one year of doing through (impossible to do and) hellish training schedule, he becomes socially skilled enough to get friends that can overlook his flaws and cause every girl to fall in love with him, somewhat including his sister?

3) The story is all over the place – One chapter can be about 4-5 different people/groups, that then doesn’t appear untill 5 chapters later..? This again leads back to my first point of it being hard to keep track of who is who. The sidestories that gets added along the way, are a bit too randomly thrown in there and jumps all over the place in their progression and completely stops acting when the MC acts on a sidequest. This especially relates to the story of the Priests of Ressurection / Embinyu Church.

4) So after the beginning, what happens to his stat window? It’s just poof, gone.. It really lacks the constant updates and comparasings between monsters stats & the characters that Zhan Long has. Seems to me like a major blunder..

5) Okay, this sort of pissed me off. The MC states at one point that life is 98% about money and 2% desires, friends and one more. I’m sorry, but doesn’t that mean to the MC that his desire for money, makes his life = 100% money? So does he even have a heart, liver, brain anymore or is he entirely made out of won-bills? I suppose this again leads back to the psychopath aspect I stated earlier.

6) You can scim through the entire story and not miss a thing. I read chapter 10-19 this way and I wrote down the events and people, reread it carefully and I didn’t miss a thing. Undetailed and fillers-packed narrating that is straight up dissapointing to read.

There are other points I’d like to make such as his sister's dropping out of a gang with nothing getting mentioned of it later, but people would probably forfit reading this review if I did so.

I liked the story as a timefiller inbetween other releases (currently reading 15 other LN’s), but that was it. I would recommend reading Zhan Long and ARK first, and if you fall inlove with the genre of VRPG, then read this. <<less

It's a fun story for a while. But, besides its entertainment, it's horribly written. At first, I would have eagerly given it at least four stars. Overall, though, it's worth maybe 2.5 stars. Some of the problems:

Translation quality aside, the author isn't an effective writer and doesn't express ideas well. What's more, he leaves the foundation of the story full of holes. For one example, the story relies upon time passing four times faster in the virtual world. In other words, 96 hours pass inside the virtual world for every... more>> 24 hours outside of it. And that extraordinary function isn't used logically or taken advantage of by anyone—there are no people enjoying much longer lives, no schools holding virtual classes, no company getting a huge edge over others—there are no attempts at optimization, even though benefits would far outweigh the costs. The virtual world exists only for the sake of the MC's success, with little pretense otherwise.
Nor does the story improve over time. Instead, the author piles more mistakes onto their growing hill with each chapter, and rarely tries to fix what's bad. The novel endlessly reuses somewhat successful ideas, and seldom tries anything new. It doesn't even stick with its RPG elements very well. Ignoring missions and related things: stats, leveling, skills, and gold lose whatever value they once had—not because they climb up too high, but because the author doesn’t bother keeping them relevant.

There are also very annoying things, like how no one on Earth apart from the MC's crew can accomplish anything, or how women only exist to be beautiful and circle around the protagonist. Some females are given little thought or description for their debut, and suddenly become very attractive when the author decides to turn them into love interests for the MC or another male character. Others are "love" interests from the beginning, as considered by an author who can only mock the word.

On another note, the protagonist is not only terribly written, but unlikable. The problem isn’t that he's an antihero—he starts out as a potentially interesting one, with awesome if bland determination, a history and perspective that induce musing, and a purpose that could have been interesting or at least consistent. But his purpose becomes murky and he increasingly ignores logic. He'll throw all of his money at risky endeavors, but inevitably waste time pinching pennies. He doesn't understand, or care, that other people might need money too. Since he doesn't even have much empathy, there's little depth left to him, and he remains selfish and unlikable. He fails at providing a refreshing viewpoint. His potential complexity never arrives at an intriguing dissonance; instead, he falls into the underworld of failed characters. His holes aren't intended, he simply isn't well constructed, and the same applies to the story as a whole.

So. Depth, plot, writing skill and effort: everything's bad. But the novel's enjoyable for a while, until it finally suffocates underneath its shortcomings. Still, if you have a pair of sunglasses and an oxygen tank handy, you can determinedly ignore the novel's failings and have a good time reading it. <<less

Pros:
- EPIC major battles!
- Stories are sometimes told in separate people's views.
Downside:
- MC doesn't develop any real personality + MC's personality isn't all that great to begin with => MC constantly complains about how under-power his class is & that he puts money above everything else.
- Girls fall in love with him despite said personality
- Every other chapters other than the the major battles are sub-par.
- Repetitive writing - MC gains xxx experience, levels, stats. Got xxx items, which increases stats by xxx... more>> amount.
- Names - Lots of character names to be memorized. 1 character has in-game name & real life name. Multiply it by 20 or so, and I'd lose track of who's who.

Original rating is 6/5, but as of now, it's 3/5 & I'm dropping it. <<less

This is the second MMORPG game novel (my first being overlord) I've read ever since I stepped into the world of light novels, and I swear, it's because of THIS novel that I got seriously hooked on light novels, be it Chinese, Korean or Japanese!

I couldn't literally put this novel down! I gobbled up the 23 volumes (when I first read it, it was up to 23 already) and daydreamed about this novel during my classes AND would even find it in my dreams!
I was seriously obsessed lol.
Anyway,... more>> this novel is really epic. The best one out there, IMO. It's just so exciting, the battles are so fleshed out, and weeds charisma, leadership and his brains are top notch! He really thinks the battles through, and always comes out victorious even in quests you wouldn't think anyone would succeed! I think this is what makes this novel so great. The author really knows how to twist and add different schemes each time for every battle! It's really amazing how the author can not make this so cliche when tons of battles have already been fought, and yet the readers still find immense excitement and pleasure being derived from it.
That's why this novel is so EPIC.

this is probably the only novel I religiously wait for for updates. Thank god it's updated regularly or many grass porridge members such as I are gonna go berserk :))) <<less

This novel pretty much suit my needs and doesn't bore me. It always excite me when Weed is in major battle and always amazingly surprising me.

There is no unnecessary romance, the cliche drama romance between many girls chasing the MC? bored with that. Some women might show interest with Weed but his not dense and knows it but don't want it cause its expensive. Sometimes fast pace romance destroy stories so I like the pace in this novel.

Plus, this not only focus with the MC. I... more>> enjoy reading about several players reacts about Weed and the players who will have a role on Weed adventure. There is a lot of comedy that always make me giggle.

This story is new and fresh for me. From the all novels I read this is the only the one that doesn't bore me and cringe. But if you don't like greedy characters and like goody two shoes then just move along... <<less

As @false mentioned below MC’s earlier achievements and time scaling are somewhat questionable (there is no such thing as 2y handicap, though – its 1year and he learned real life skills applicable to VR mechanics during this time), but Weed’s character and vastness of adventure part makes up for it tenfold.
And, unlike Ark that shares a lot of similarities, MC’s somewhat twisted character is coherent.

Its a weird thing that I can't stand this story after 10 volumes in but I kept going up until 26.

Exploring the vast game world is fun to read and the statues he makes are also funny in relation to the characters. He changed the way the game is played but persevering in his own class, its a unique class, he also gets to master other crafting classes. The interaction between the characters are humorous solely because of the MC behavior.

Many forgot the main goal of the story and that... more>> is for weed to amass 3 Billion real world money to show that korean mafia and his money back. This however was just glossed over by the author after many volumes and completely forgotten altogether. Instead we get the feeling of adventure which is nice but its disappointing that the main goal is glossed over when it should be focused more.

Weed is a fantasy character and it is in all aspects. I can't relate to him after a few volumes in, he sleeps for just 4 hours a day, he is a master swordsman that the dojo leader was impressed by him in just a year, he has superhuman survival skills that his classmates was surprised even though he never has been training aside from basic body training. I can tolerate one of these... no actually if there is just some explanation how he can sleep for 4 hours a day and feel fine I would consider it.

He is a despicable person everyone in his circle of friends know it but they still agree with him. That is one of Gary Stu's defining characteristics. Everyone also fawn over him its not even funny anymore, I mean all his acquaintances go in-game to be with him even the Dojo masters. Weed's love life is also written badly.

The story also suffers from bad handling of perspectives. We go back and forth from reality and the game world but I really can't see the point of going back to reality. At first it was to check on his financial savings and his grandmother but afterwards it just boils down to "How can weed be more superhuman than anybody else."

I can't say much about the game world because I am not really a fan of MMORPG. Just the fact of "First Discovery and First Drop" mechanic I can't relate to. When discovering a new dungeon you get a bonus drop rate for "the first" monster you kill and it is totally rubbish. Weed even tells us that it should be reserved for the boss, are you kidding me? So we are just going to waltz to the boss room with a mob train, it is ridiculous how the author planned this out.

I am mixed about recommending this story, I did have fun reading it but the bad parts just doesn't subside so No. <<less

Read until volume 11.
It's like weed is the only guy with enough brain to think. Something like grinding your stat, trying out your options onto the NPCs, exploring every skill and class for their every single effect, prioritizing those with "percentage effect", prioritizing passive skills and playing a whole lot. They're common sense, any gamer would've done it, weed with his 2 years of handicap (8 years in game) wouldn't have a chance at RMT. You would've need to be at cap level for something like RMT and yet,... more>> weed with his low level could get enough money for living AND PAYING FOR HIS MOTHER TO A HOSPITAL. I also can't agree how his 1 year of swordsmanship training could be any better competed against players with 8 years of in game experience (I mean, they teach you how to fight other human fighting with swords in dojos), no matter how great his teacher is supposed to be. Only sleeping for 3 hours doesn't help, "sleep deprivation" exist, or else anyone would love to play game without sleeping at all.

It's like the whole story is spitting on the face of "gamer", "professional RMT gamer" and especially "paying gamer". Paying gamer are the game side for super players as far as my experience go. <<less

I guess if I had to describe it, this would be an event based novel documenting the development of a fictional nation and the character that reluctantly helps develop it. That's not what it's supposed to be about, but it really more works that way in the end. Yeah, it's also about a certain OP protag as well. How unique...

... more>>
The Good:
Lots of interesting situations and interactions. Some humor.

The Bad:
MC is dense protagonist savior wrapped in ill-fitting 'vicious money grubber' skin. Tragically, he learns nothing nor is really challenged (or even questioned) by anyone for his bad attitude/actions.
Characters are all shallow, mostly caricatures who additionally see almost no development, choosing instead to mindlessly follow his lead with token reluctance.
Lots of 'coincidentally that happened', 'somehow things work out' & deus ex machina plotting.
Plot is so focused on the MC, that significant oversights regarding the rest of the world occur frequently. It also seems no one can do anything right without the MC- or at least others don't exist till the chapter where the author remembers them...

The Different:
For some reason a surprising number of authors want to write novels with heroes who do heroic things, but are actually 'totally not heroes' due to 'really being selfish' (or whatever- 'vengeful' is quite popular too). I give this author some credit because a fair amount of his character's created mentality fits the desired mold. Even so, a whole lot more doesn't- and considering how smart the MC supposedly is, him trying to do selfish things which obviously wouldn't work- only to be undermined by 'unavoidable plot complications' -- I don't get why it's so important to even try. Well, magically it works out anyway...
That said, the idea of a 'cash poor protagonist who wants to do anything to raise his sister' is initially established pretty well- it just fails in so many other places as the author forces so many events and situations which water down that bond. As important as the sister supposedly is, she is almost always little more than a prop for his motivation, some minor plot point or what she can do for him.

There's a lot to be said about things happening after v30, and while approaching the endgame- where all sorts of things that should have more impact are hastily changed (almost as an afterthought).

I won't even get into the 'real world' over-the-top, disastrous in concept nonsense regarding super-advanced tech and the prizes to be given to the uniter of the continent (regardless of personality, suitability, or methods used) which looms in the background while they fight out comparatively petty VR issues.

Yup- other than being able to make money/fame/relationships- everything else is in the game (for now).

Anyway, as much as I have to say about it's issues- it's still quite entertaining. The MC is a jerk, but the story is pretty good- at least till v30, where a lot of things are 'jammed in'/rushed, and overall is not quite as good, but still workable.

Spoiler

We won't even go into his class change, which seems more 'author forced' than 'character chosen'. It's 'barely' logical considering the character's supposed stated purpose. I also seem to remember there being an excavator class which would be both better suited for that purpose & draw less wrath from the gods...

Ten years! That's why I give this story 5/5. Not many writer can keep on writing for ten years. Also, if there's no something good in the novel, readers and editors will drop it for a long time, instead of creating web site by its theme.

Ten years! So the plot is fragmented & developing according to writer's psycho-socio-economic status of that time. So, NOT recommend to read all the chapters in one swoop. It's better to read it as LMS I, LMS II, LMS III...

Ten years! Enough to write 5-6... more>> completed story. Slowly read this novel like that, and you'll get best of the best without paying a single won. <<less

This was one of the first translated novels I ever read, and it's what made me such a fan of them. Even after several read throughs, I still find the story to be extremely entertaining. While the story starts off a tad slow compared to later on, it's understandable because of how well the author uses that time to build the world.

The biggest thing that 1st time readers will likely doubt about the story is the whole sculpting skill, but if you stick with it for a little bit, the... more>> author uses it to create what is probably one of the most awesome skill sets I've seen in fantasy, and even the regular sculpting scenes are facinating to read, especially when he starts creating larger and more elaborate sculptures.

The main character is amazing. He's a greedy, antisocial, asshole at times (part of his charm is how greedy he is) and you always find yourself rooting for him. The setting and world in general are incredibly detailed and well fleshed out. One of the most interesting things in the story is that the female lead is actually stronger than the male lead for almost the entire story (albeit he would almost definitely win if he went all out and planned for such an encounter)

It's rather hard for me to actually find anything I'd change about the story, except maybe having the romance being a bit more often.
If you have the time, this is a must read novel.
5/5

Edit as of v47c4

While v30-40 kinda dropped in quality compared to v1-30, the story is right back up to the greatness it had at the beginning for v40+.
The stakes are rising ever higher, and the author continues to add to his world. I honestly cried when Weed mastered sculpting. After all the heartache and sh*t he had to go through, it was cathartic to have him finally finish.

It's also great to see some true feelings from Weed. While he kinda stagnated at first, over the 40+ volumes he's grown into a real character imo. It's great to see the contrasts as he is now compared to the start. It's one of the few stories I can see a noticible change in a character over time. <<less

The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor is set in an MMORPG, and the author does his best to remind you of that by making the novel as boring as possible.

While I do understand that this was the first korean novel for many people (including myself), I really think this shouldn't be rated as high as it is. I'd like to apologize in advance if this review is outdated or misinformed, as I last read the novel in early 2016.

First, let's talk about the MC. Everyone likes Weed, right? But why? He's literally... more>> every money-grubbing Korean MC out there, except that he has literally no other defining characteristics. This flaw is made even worse when you realize that 90% of the novel is following Weed around, so while you might find his antics funny at first, you'll surely be tired of them the 50th time they make a joke about him being a stingy ass.

Surprisingly, Weed isn't even the worst character. The entire supporting cast also lacks character. From what I remember, the goddamn NPCs are more memorable than most of the cast. The only character whose name I remembered was Weed, and that can be boiled down to two reasons:

Everyone on NUF makes jokes about him

The novel literally follows him 90% of the time

The setting is also kinda lame. LMS takes place in an MMORPG. While this can be ignored most of the time, 90% of the novel takes place in the game, and the entire thing comes off as an extended play-through, if the player in question was just making the same joke over and over for hours on end. Somehow, though, the 10% of the novel that isn't focused on Weed's shenanigans in game manages to be even more boring than the MMORPG parts! The characters somehow manage to do LESS in real life than in the MMO! It's like reading a novel where the entire cast is just me!

I'd comment on the pacing, but nothing ever actually happens in the novel. The only character development is the kind that makes your stats higher and your skills more powerful, and the romance is laughably slow. Two romantic interests had appeared in the story when I'd dropped it, and Weed had just rejected one of them, after not even seeing her for months on end. Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention: Weed isn't even in contact with his love interests half the time, and when he is, it's hard to feel anything, because both characters are so bleah that you don't even care what develops between them.

The novel is pretty fun at the start, but you'll eventually get tired of reading the same thing over and over again with slight variations. Despite the genres, it's more similar to a SoL than anything. Give it a shot if you're a fan of that genre, but it's not for me. <<less

LMS (Legendary Moonlight Sculptor) was my first light novel, the one thing which made me so into novel and light novel was LMS. Thus, I tell you truthfully that my rating is quite biased, but still without the bias-my rating to LMS would still be 5.. Why ?
1. The Characters and especially the MC are likeable, they are true to their purposes. The Prota to be liked and the Anta to be despised or annoying (that's what an Anta is for).
2. The story (at that time) I could... more>> say original, and only after LMS getting popular, then many LNs used the same or almost same plot.
3. The Feel of the story is real, you weep when the story sad, you laugh when the story funny, having an adrenaline rush when the story climaxing.
4. The World building is very amazing, well not like xianxia in which there would be a new world, but you would still feel the adventuring and even the places are quite memorable.
5. The description on things are not too much, neither does it lacking.

To tell you the truth I can go on and on about it's good point but I'll leave it for you to explore yourself by reading it. Trust me, the only bad thing about LMS is it's translation are in pieces (the 20 volume onward). But you will be hooked after 20 volumes anyway so it wont meant much to you readers.

LMS is a great story with new kind of Plot, MC, Heroine, and adventures in virtual reality AND real life (reality) with good humor and great feels.

It gets really repetitive after having Pale say, for the 50ish time "Oh that's our Weed. Always so good at saving money."

The same jokes are made, the same sorts of hi-jinks, the same discussions and the same low key racist comments.

... more>>
One can wonder if Weed actually intends to fulfill his promise he made. Since, for it being the reason the story started, it has not even been mentioned since volume 3.

The first 20 volumes are great. Some slavery and things anyone would have thought of already in the game. But better than the standard game stories you can find here. After volume 20 there is no need to read it. It is just the same things, told using the same words, coming to similar conclusions. <<less

Just to add on to the one below me, I don't think he is going to sell his account because he makes to much continuous money from it, through his "taxes". And honestly it is mostly a comedy. But for those thinkers out there, you can actually get a lot from it. I won't bore you with my musings from the story. But similar to One Piece, the more you look and research it, the more you get from it. ANd the comment below the one below me, is crazy.... more>> How are there too many characters? The ones that matter are introduced slowly and fully, so I don't understand how they can't keep up with the characters. So take that comment with a grain of salt. The might be some translation issues here and there, but not to the point where you can't read and enjoy the story. I give this story a 5, because I thoroughly enjoy this story. I can re-read it and find something fresh every time. It makes me think about society and myself. Weed does openly what people do secretly and I respect him for it. I love the slow romance as well. Because he is so suspicious and actually innocent in the way of love, it is a very refreshing take on it. Even though it isn't the main focus of this story, it is a cute side story. For someone so intelligent and calculation, he is so awkward and stubborn when it comes to his feelings (He is always in denial). The point is, there are many things you can get out of this story, and if you skim over it you will miss it, and if you can't comprehend the story, I don't know what to tell you. Because it really isn't that hard to comprehend the main points of the story. But it might take a little more brain power to read between the lines. <<less

I found this series through its manga, which had beautiful art. It was funny, full of suspense and intriguing, which led me to continue after the end of the manga. After I read all the available chapters at the moment, I consider this Korean masterpiece a 5. Why? Simply because it was the first light novel that I ever read and I can't stop reading it... many of you probably no this feeling, this desire for more of one's kind :)

It's a... more>> good feeling... I enjoy the repetitive insider jokes which run through the novel like a red string. I mean the barely bread, the geomchis <3, the always lamenting MC Lee Hyung and the so pretty second MC Seoyoon :D.

I know, people criticize this kind of romance, where there is too much misunderstanding and people don't like the MC for his wickedness, but think about his circumstances. He started to work all trades of work from the age of 14/15~ right? He solely provided for both sister and grandmother and also for his treatment, when he got sick from his hard labour. So the way he sees life as unfair and always repetitively states this is not only amusing but in a way very true, because not everybody can have the same life, where there will be higher ups, will be lower standing people, whom are being stepped on by superiors. It's so naturally that nature it self favorites the fittest. See survival of the fittest (eminem song or darwin's game a manga reference haha :D) And the second point about romance and misunderstandings between MCs, it's something that can be enjoyed by some people like me, as it is refreshing and new in comparison to other love relationships in fiction! <<less

This has woefully inconsistent translations, and later volumes only have machine translations (though proofread to be more grammatically correct). I'm not convinced the series remains fresh enough after so long that it's worth reading machine translations. It's not just about the grammar, after all, but all the intentions and nuances that a Korean speaker would have to make an effort to convey in another language. Reader beware -- you might be better off just reading the comics.

It's a very funny series, particularly because of the hero's rotten and irrational personality,... more>> the Korean MMO player's mindset of "grinding is not bad game design; being able to grind a lot is a hero's virtue" and other ridiculous ideas. It doesn't take itself very seriously, but it's very engaging, at least early on.

The really good stuff is in his creation of sculptures and accumulation of other overpowered sculptor skills, and his exaggerated reputation with other players. It can even be smart at times: the author likes to talk about the MMO's economy, from Weed scraping by at the start, to the merchant classes and satirical elements, like the orcs who try to sell pieces of garbage for a million coins in to hopes of making a single sale--which is kind of an exaggerated play on a market strategy sometimes employed in the real world. It's not so academic in its approach as Spice & Wolf, but it's a treat if it's the kind of thing that interests you.

I also like Seoyoon quite a bit, who subverts some bad "mute heroine" tropes with the running gag that everything she does is misinterpreted as viciously as possible by the MC. She's also a magnet for "exaggerated public reaction" moments because of her joke-level good looks. But generally the characters aren't too interesting and this is one you'll read for the jokes and skill-growth.

Also, a lot of the impossible quests that get thrust upon the protagonist are resolved in the exact same way--he sets up an army of followers and crawls across the map to grind up their levels, and it can feel formulaic and tedious, especially later, when even the skill-growth bottoms out. Personally, I think I'll stop reading for a while, and then maybe pick this back up again when there's an end in sight. <<less